The First Russian Antarctic Expedition took place in 1819–1821 under the direction of Fabian Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The expedition aimed to reach the Southern Ocean in order to prove or disprove the existence of a suspected seventh continent, Antarctica. The sloop Vostok was under the command of Bellingshausen, while Lazarev commanded the sloop Mirny. Overall, the crew consisted of 190 people.
Portrait of the minister Traversay
Expedition commanders Fabian Bellingshausen (left) and Mikhail Lazarev (right)
Sloop Mirny, from the album of P. Mikhailov
Joseph Banks
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Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
A 1757 portrait of Banks with a botanical illustration, unknown artist, but attributed to Lemuel Francis Abbott or Johann Zoffany
Satire on Banks titled "The Botanic Macaroni", by Matthew Darly, 1772: A macaroni was a pejorative term used for a follower of exaggerated continental fashion in the 18th century.
Banks as painted by Benjamin West in 1773